Organizational Behavior and Culture - Assignment Example

Motivation and Teams Case Study Annette Hurst of Phoenix BUS 210 – Foundations of Business Maria Schellhase July 24, Case Two Men and a Lot of Trucks Mary Ellen Sheets’ keen business ability is primarily driven by what Maslow refers to as the need for self-actualization. Her work behavior depicts a strong desire to challenge existing stereotypes about what women should do, and to steer the business to greater heights. She has proven her critics wrong when she gave up a stable job and proceeded on to conquer, almost single-handedly, in a male-dominated industry.

Her motivation to succeed may likewise reflects what Maslow refers to as a need for beauty (Jones, 2007). Part of her trucking services’ astounding success was Sheets’ efforts to professionalize the business by, among other things, putting the movers in uniforms, having them carry business cards and training them in customer service. Setting up the training facility also gave both her employees and franchisees a chance to enrich their jobs through the acquisition of new skills and ways to conduct their businesses and these gave them ultimate competitive advantage.

Having all done so, Sheets has fulfilled the esteem, belongingness, and even self-actualization needs of her staff and business partners which in turn motivated them to perform better either as individuals or as teams. Case 2: Siemens’s New BossLike Mary Ellen Sheets in Case 1, Klaus Kleinfeld of Siemens is motivated by the need to become a self-actualized individual. A global citizen, he embraces change and pulls his organization along with him. Through his unwavering commitment, Kleinfeld was able to show a conventional company and its employees what they can expect to gain from their added efforts and dynamic performance in the long run.

The cross-functional teams he created likewise expanded business opportunities for Siemens with their concerted actions and cooperation which were unheard of in traditional business settings. Kleinfeld and his self-motivated teams are slowly but surely directing Siemens towards becoming globally competitive again. ReferencesJones, G. R. (2007). Introduction to Business: How Companies Create Value For People. New York: The McGraw Hill Companies.